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Playing games released for these platforms on a modern system can be quite easy as programs can be run on latest Windows without sacrifices due to backwards compability.<ref>https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/make-older-apps-or-programs-compatible-with-windows-783d6dd7-b439-bdb0-0490-54eea0f45938</ref> However this '''may''' change in the near future due to dropping 16 and 32-bit support from processors.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FpXimj1oA René Rebe: Intel finally to remove 16-bit REAL MODE and some 32b RINGS]</ref><ref>[[Wikipedia:X86#From_16-bit_and_32-bit_to_64-bit_architecture|In 2023, Intel proposed a major change to the architecture referred to as x86-S (with S standing for "simplification"), which aims to remove support for legacy execution modes and instructions]]</ref>
If you are trying to get Windows 2000, XP or Vista software working on a modern system, you should only be using this page as a last resort and would be better suited to read the [https://www.pcgamingwiki.com PCGamingWiki], which likely already has information on the game you want. If you don't have the operating system you want, you can download it from [https://winworldpc.com/library/operating-systems WinWorldPC], and if you don't have the game you want or it's not available on the platforms like [https://store.steampowered.com/ Steam] or [https://www.gog.com/ GOG]; you can try downloading it from [https://www.myabandonware.com/ My Abandonware].
==[[Wrappers]]==
:VMWare Tools supports Windows 95 through Windows 10 but [https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/81466 VMware Tools 10.0.12 will be the last version to support <abbr title="Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003">legacy Guest Operating Systems</abbr>] although you can still [https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1014294 use latest VMware version with VMware Tools 10.0.12], VMware will automatically installs it to guest operating system for you.
:VirtualBox; supports integrations but does not include 3D acceleration for legacy operating systems anymore (with recent versions) due to VBoxVGA deprecate<ref>[https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=96010 changes in VirtualBox's 3D acceleration system]</ref>, so you must use [https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Download_Old_Builds VirtualBox 6.0.24 version or earlier] to use 3D acceleration in a Windows 2000, XP or Vista guest operating system.
Although newer [[Hypervisors#Hypervisor_issues|VMware releases has major issues]] with legacy guest operating system nowadays;
! scope="col"|Compatibility
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
! scope="col"|Active<abbr title="Virtual GPU Adapter">*</abbr>
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
|-
! colspan="67"|PC / x86
|-
|[https://www.parallels.com/ Parallels Desktop]
|?
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{~}}
|-
|SVGA3D
|[https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Documents/3D-Applications-Compatibility-List/ta-p/2785485 ?]
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{~}}
|[https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2525 ?]
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|{{~}}
|}
;Comparison
*3D acceleration in hypervisors is capable of running fairly demanding video games or other 3D applications with a few drawbacks such as limited DirectX API versions. Every hypervisor has a different approach to handling 3D graphics resulting VirtualBox [[Hypervisors#Graphics|supports for OpenGL are slightly better than Direct3D]] (since it doesn't have to be reverse engineered), on the other hand VMware has better support for D3D9. Keep in mind that most Windows games (including ports) use Direct3D. Having said that you can use [[Wrappers#90.27s_APIs|wrappers]] like "WineD3D for Windows" or "DxWnd" for translate D3D calls to OpenGL on the legacy operating system for increasing your chance if games uncompatible with virtual GPU adapter. Also you can use [[Wrappers|d3d8to9]] since VMware's Direct3D 8 acceleration has graphical and/or performance issues. "[https://github.com/JHRobotics/softgpu/issues/12 softgpu]" drivers do not support Windows XP at the moment. DxWnd 2.05.70, WineD3D 1.7.52 or 1.9.7-staging(partially) versions are the latest compatible versions with Windows XP (if [https://github.com/Skulltrail192/One-Core-API-Binaries OneCoreAPI] is '''not''' installed to OS), for getting these old "WineD3D for Windows" builds use [https://www.vogonsdrivers.com/wrappers/files/DirectX/OpenGL/WineD3D/2000+/ this link]<br/>
;Notes*You can use [[Wrappers#90.27s_APIs|wrappers]] like "WineD3D for Windows" or "DxWnd" for translate D3D calls to OpenGL on the legacy operating system for increasing your chance if games uncompatible with virtual GPU adapter. Also using you can use [[Wrappers|d3d8to9]] since VMware's Direct3D 8 acceleration has graphical and/or performance issues.:*DxWnd 2.05.70, WineD3D 1.7.52 or 1.9.7-staging(partially) versions are the latest compatible versions with Windows XP (if [https://github.com/Skulltrail192/One-Core-API-Binaries OneCoreAPI] is '''not''' installed to OS), for getting these old "WineD3D for Windows" builds use [https://www.vogonsdrivers.com/wrappers/files/DirectX/OpenGL/WineD3D/2000+/ this link]*Using [https://github.com/JHRobotics/softgpu?tab=readme-ov-file#feature-support softgpu] drivers for Windows 9x operating systems is recommended[https://youtu.be/55qfaXyqz-Y], but [https://github.com/JHRobotics/softgpu/issues/12 it isn't compatible with Windows XP at the moment].*Using [[#Proxy_Projects_for_Retro_Web_Browsing|proxy projects for retro web browsing]] experience is recommended.*You can also use software tools for middleware or disc-check emulation, see [[Copy protection#Emulation]] section.*Keep in mind that, if you do decide to install Windows 95 in a virtual machine, you will need to install [http://lonecrusader.x10host.com/fix95cpu.html FIX95CPU] (or better [https://github.com/JHRobotics/patcher9x#patch-for-windows-959898-seme-to-fix-cpu-issues Patcher9x by JHRobotics]) for it to run on processors with clock speeds over 2.1GHz (for Intel CPUs) and 300MHz (for AMD CPUs). Failing to do so will result in a "Protection Error" at boot time.*Using [https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2057914 VMware-KVM]([https://blogs.vmware.com/workstation/2014/03/whats-cool-vmware-kvm-utility.html 2]) or [https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1018809 RDP] instead of VMware built-in display is recommended for smoother experience, this shouldn't be confused with [https://linux-kvm.org/page/Main_Page KVM] (Kernel-based Virtual Machine).
====[[Hypervisors#Type_1_hypervisors|<abbr title="Because of KVM or WHPX">Type 1 Hypervisors</abbr>]]====
! scope="col"|Compatibility
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
! scope="col"|Active
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
|-
! colspan="67"|PC / x86
|-
|[[QEMU]]+'''KVM'''
|GPU-Passthrough
|
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|?
|
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|?
|
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|-
|[https://docs.mesa3d.org/drivers/virgl.html VirGL]
|N/A
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|N/A
|
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|-
|N/A
|
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|}
====Summary====
You don't have any other option except "QEMU-3dfx with WHPX" OR "Type 2 hypervisors" for current Windows hosts at the moment. Also see [https://github.com/JHRobotics/softgpu?tab=readme-ov-file#feature-support softgpu's feature support].
==[[POS_(Pong_Consoles)_CPUs_and_Other_Chips#x86_CPUs|Software emulators]]==
These are emulators in the truest sense, in that they don't do any kind of "cheating/hacking" the way a hypervisor would. But keep in mind that, unlike [[Wikipedia:X86_virtualization#Hardware-assisted_virtualization|hardware-assisted]] [[#Hypervisors|hypervisors]]; emulating something like Voodoo3 with Pentium II level of hardware with these software emulators requires latest and greatest top-notch [https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html single thread performance of CPUs]. [[PCem]], [[86Box]] and UniPCemu are full retro x86 computer emulators, spanning from the original IBM 5150 to Pentium II powered PCs. Setting it up is much like building an actual retro computer, but in software, so expect it to be as difficult as setting up an actual retro PC. This means you're going to have to install Windows 2000/XP (Vista is supported by them but unrecommended) along with all necessary drivers for the hardware you chose. Having said that, see these emulators as a useful alternative way to emulate these operating systems especially if you want the most accurate and compatible option for 3Dfx Voodoo emulation and [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=534 Windows 2000/XP glide games].
'''For more and detailed information;'''
{{Main|POS_(Pong_Consoles)_CPUs_and_Other_Chips#x86_CPUs}}
{{Main|PC_Emulator_Comparisons}}
* [https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Virtualization PCGamingWiki: Virtualization]
* [https://www.vogons.org/ VOGONS]
* [https://github.com/exoscoriae/eXoWin3x/issues/680 eXoWinXP]
* [https://x.com/TheBobPony/status/1791391041913790513 A Windows modder from Germany has patched Windows XP to work on 486 processors]
[[Category:Operating systems]]
